Meet Our Team
HOPE Village Revitalization is first and foremost a community-based organization, focused exclusively on the Hope Village neighborhood. Our team is comprised of talented and committed board and staff members as well as dedicated volunteers.
Meet Our Staff
HVR staff collectively have more than 40 years of experience in community development work in the Hope Village, and more than 50 years of experience in the community development field. Our staff is extraordinarily talented and committed to the work of the organization in moving the HOPE Village forward.
Debbie Fisher
Executive Director
Debbie joined HVR in 2019, and prior to that served the HOPE Village community for 17 years in various capacities at Focus: HOPE. Before joining Focus: HOPE, Debbie worked for 11 years with the City of Detroit’s Planning and Development Department and for almost 5 years as an attorney with Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn where she focused primarily on public/private real estate development. She holds degrees from King’s College, Cambridge, Harvard Law School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government. She and her family have lived, worked and worshiped in Detroit with the great people of this city for over 35 years.
Stephanie Johnson-Cobb
Deputy Director
Stephanie Johnson-Cobb, a native Detroiter, is driven by a passion to eradicate the physical, social and economic inequities in the neighborhood in which she grew up, raised her family and still resides. Stephanie worked for many years in Focus: HOPE’s Community Development Department organizing, remediating blight and helping to create a Strategic Vision and Plan for the HOPE Village Neighborhood. In November 2019, Focus: HOPE’s Community Development work spun off from its parent organization to form HOPE Village Revitalization (HVR) Community Development Corporation where Stephanie now serves as the Deputy Director. HVR’s mission is to move the HOPE Village forward in a way that mitigates disparities in wealth, privilege and educational resources. HOPE Village Revitalization supports Fresh and Local Food Systems- Farmers Market, Place Making, and Sustainable Housing.
Megan Corder
Communications & Outreach Associates
Megan Corder joined HVR in 2020 and serves as HVR’s Communications and Outreach Associate, through the AmeriCorps VISTA program. Ms. Corder recently graduated from the University of Michigan – Dearborn with a Bachelor’s degree, with a major in Communications, a minor in Marketing and a certificate in Public Relations. Megan is truly passionate about making voices heard.
Dell Stubblefield
Donor and Community Engagement Specialist
Dell Stubblefield, Donor and Community Engagement Specialist, has been with HOPE Village Revitalization since its inception. Dell is a resident of the community and a senior advocate; she also has a special interest in addressing environmental issues that can impact the community in a negative manner. Dell is part of the community gardening movement in the HOPE Village, working alongside seniors at the Village of Oakman Manor.
Juanita Maxwell
OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
Ms. Juanita is a volunteer through the Detroit Area Agency on Aging who has been with HOPE Village Revitalization since its inception. Through her work with HVR, she enjoys being a resourceful advocate for the community.
Meet Our Staff
HVR staff collectively have more than 40 years of experience in community development work in the Hope Village, and more than 50 years of experience in the community development field. Our staff is extraordinarily talented and committed to the work of the organization in moving the HOPE Village forward.
Anthony Batiste
Executive Director
Anthony Batiste has over 8 years of experience with the Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and is responsible for all of LISC’s Detroit lending activity. His experience includes over 18 years proven commercial lending experience in both developing and managing commercial loan relationships for businesses in a variety of industries. During his tenure at LISC he has been responsible for underwriting over $20 million in lending with the redevelopment of the NSO Bell Building in the HOPE Village Neighborhood. He is also the local contact for the LISC Small Business Lending Products and Economic Development activity.
Delbert Brown
Deputy Director
Delbert Brown is a lifelong Detroit resident who has volunteered in the HOPE Village community for more than five years. He is a program and project management professional skilled in nonprofit organizations, budgeting, government, airports and volunteer management. He currently serves as co-chair of the Detroit City Council Green Task Force Renewable Energy Subcommittee.
Dwan Dandridge
Communications & Outreach Associates
Dwan Dandridge, is Co-Founder and CEO of Black Leaders Detroit (BLD). As a lifelong Detroiter, his leadership skills have been shaped by a wide range of experiences, including grass roots activism, running a small business, and serving as a union representative with the UAW. Dwan is passionate about creating blueprints to share power. He has a unique ability to define and quantify the value of people that come to the table with nontraditional skills. Dwan views the access to capital disparities from many angles, and is focused on creating equitable solutions. In the first year of operation he led BLD in providing financial support to 65 black owned businesses and nonprofits.
Sonya Delley
Executive Director
Sonya Delley is the principal of Sun Charles, LLC, an Urban Real Estate Solutions firm located in the city of Detroit. Sonya has over 30 years in the field of real estate finance, and is the Michigan Market Leader for PACE Equity LLC, which provides low cost capital for energy efficient construction. Ms. Delley has worked with over twenty non-profit boards and loan committees in the community.
Khary Frazier
Deputy Director
Khary Frazier is a lifelong HOPE Village resident and serves as vice-chair of the HOPE Village Revitalization board. What began for him as a journey engaging hip-hop audiences, has grown into a career as a marketing consultant. He has a degree in marketing from Walsh College of Business and Accountancy, and is the owner of Creative Differences Marketing, a Detroit business. An artist himself, Mr. Frazier facilitates relationships between businesses and other artistic entrepreneurs to create messaging and materials that market organizations, products, and services. Mr. Frazier launched the Detroit is Different platform in 2014 with podcasting and blogging. Now Detroit is Different is an eclectic expression of the dynamic range of the Black experience in Detroit.
Daryl Hurley
Communications & Outreach Associates
Daryl Hurley is a Board Member and Treasurer for HOPE Village Revitalization. He has over 25 years of experience in accounting practices and principles including management of finance operations and is currently the CFO of Focus: HOPE; previously he served as a financial systems analyst and a manager of real estate accounting with the KMART Corporation. Mr. Hurley has an MBA from Walsh College and serves on several nonprofit boards, including the Virginia Park Homeowners’ Association.
Jeff Jones
Executive Director
Jeff Jones serves as the Board Chair of HOPE Village Revitalization. A lifelong HOPE Village resident, he is a nonprofit leader with more than 20 years’ experience managing quasi-governmental and community-based organizations, coordinating multi-million dollar neighborhood stabilization initiatives and community engagement strategies. Mr. Jones is an urban planning practitioner aiming to leverage his background and talents into transformative change in Detroit neighborhoods.
Julie Rice
Deputy Director
Julie Rice is a resident of Hope Village and has been active in the community for 10 years. During her 10 year involvement she has participated in many activities and workshops, including as a team leader for Keep It 100. A novice gardener, she maintains two community gardens on Doris Avenue. Professionally Julie Rice has held leadership roles with the following companies: Dollar Tree, Avis Budget, Target, and Gap Inc.
Lisa Robinson
Communications & Outreach Associates
Lisa Robinson is a long time HOPE Village resident and is a past president and vice-president of the Oakman Boulevard Community Association. Ms. Robinson recently retired after 31 years with the Third Circuit Court, where she held the office of president, vice-president, secretary, committee person and steward as a union member of AFSCME Local 3309. She is also a member of the HOPE Village Urban Learning and Leadership Collaborative, and the HOPE Village Citizens for Health Community. Ms. Robinson is also a bee keeper and a member of the HOPE Village Farmers Market planning committee.
DaJuan Smith
Executive Director
DaJuan Smith currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for the Neighborhood Service Organization, which is headquartered in the HOPE Village. Mr. Smith has over 20 years of experience in hospital administrative operations, community case management and more, as well as 15 years of mental health experience. Mr. Smith holds a Master of Social Work specializing in Macro and Micro systems approaches.
Judith Williams
Deputy Director
Ms. Williams retired from Focus: HOPE as Manager of Neighborhood and Economic Revitalization after spending 25 plus years working in community development, many of them in the HOPE Village. She began her community development work as the board chair of Core City Neighborhoods (CCN). Ms. Williams then served as a program officer for Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Detroit and Michigan offices. She also served as the Deputy Director of the Fannie Mae Michigan Community Business Center and the Executive Director for Lighthouse Community Development. She also serves on the board of C2BE, working to build community-based enterprises. She believes strongly in resident driven community building.
